Photo courtesy of Spotswood Greenery
Photo courtesy of Spotswood Greenery
Calycanthus floridus
Guaranteed to arrive healthy. details →
Sweetshrub is grown for a fragrance that does not smell like anything else in the garden. Calycanthus floridus carries dark maroon flowers in late spring, strap-petaled and unusual looking, and the scent has been described as strawberry, melon, and spice depending on who is describing it and which plant they are standing next to. Fragrance varies considerably between seedlings, which is worth knowing before you buy. It grows 6 to 9 feet tall and wide in full sun to part shade, hardy from Zone 4 through Zone 9, filling out over three or four seasons.
Bloom starts in May and continues sporadically into midsummer, with the heaviest flush early. The glossy dark green leaves are aromatic too, releasing a camphor scent when crushed, and they turn clear yellow in fall.
Woody seed capsules follow the flowers and hang on the bare branches through winter.
Sweetshrub grows wild in woodland understory and along stream banks, so it handles shade and moist soil better than most flowering shrubs, and it adapts to clay. It widens into a broad clump over time, which suits a shrub border or a woodland edge better than a formal bed. Deer leave it alone.
Height 6'- 9' Spread 6'- 9'
USDA Hardiness Zones 4-8
Lowest Temperatures -30°F to -20°F
Part shade - 4 to 6 hours of direct sun per day, mostly before midday
AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MA, MS, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV (Note: Northern populations often garden escapes/introduced)
Fragrant
Give your new plant the best start possible. Click here for general planting instructions.
We stand behind every plant we ship. Click here to view our warranty.
